Method of and apparatus for knitting stockings



R. K. MILLS Feb. 27, 1940.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING STOCKINGS Filed Sept. 12, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet l i imzentbr Ail neys Feb. 27, 1940. I MILLS 2,191,577

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING STOCKINGS Filed Sept. 12, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Fig. 4. Flg3.

I I I I l I I I I I I I I I l I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I h P I l r I, I I 3/ I I n I I n t I I I I I I I I I I II IIIII I I I All neys R. K. MILLS Feb. 27, 1940.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING STOCKINGS Filed Sept 12, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet s At rneys R. K. MILLS METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING STOCKINGS Filed Sept. 12, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. .5. B.

Alto eys Feb. 27, 1940. s 2,191,577

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING STOCKINGS Filed Sept. 12, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 MIME Feb. 27, 1940. v s 7 2,191,577

METHOD OF AfiD APPARATUS FOR KNITTING STOCKINGS Filed Sept. 12, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 39a- Fig.8. -39

I nuenlor R. K. MILLS 2,191,577

.METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING STOCKINGS Feb. 27, 1940.

Filed Sept. 12, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Fig. 10.

I nvenlor w Altar eys UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR KNITTING STOCKINGS Robert Kirkland Mills, Sherwood, Nottingham, England, assignor to Hosiery Developments Limited, Nottingham, England Application September 12, 1938, Serial No. 229,633 InGreat Britain September 13, 1937 15 Claims. (CI. 66-50) This invention is for improvements in and unduly affected); This is a characteristic which relating to stockings and the like (particularly is peculiar to the said fabric. Ladies seamless stockings which are prone to ladder such as those hose of the fabric specified have in fact been knitted from pure silk, artificial silk and similar produced on seamless hose machines and have slippery yarns or mixtures thereof) and is conbeen shaped by variation in-loop size. This varia- 6 cerned with the manufacture of fashioned stocktion in loop size, however, can only be accomings consisting wholly or in substantial part of panied by a departure from the optimum relation ladder-resistant fabric in which the stitch loops just discussed, and the result is an article which are locked by locking loops passed through and is not entirely commercially satisfactory. It may 10 around them. Such fabric is first described in in particular be mentioned that inthe manu- 10 the specification of Patent No. 1,960,161 and facture of seamless hose of fabric of the type subsequently in specification No. 2,123,116 and is specified, two incompatible alternatives present hereinafter referred to as fabric of the type themselves. If the necessary compass at the specified. The object of this invention is to proupper part of the stocking leg, together with i vide a practicable method whereby there may be the optimum relation at that important locality 16 produced a commercially satisfactory fashioned (important because the fabric in the region of stocking (and by a fashioned stocking is meant the knee is subjected to severe stress by reason one that is shaped by varying the number of of the flexing of the wearer's leg and the pull of wales down the leg) of such fabric. the suspender) is to be secured it is necessary 20 In making ladies seamless hose (the term to employ a large diameter cylinder and in prac- 2 hose being synonymous with the term stocktice it has been customary to employ for making ings) upon a circular knitting machine it is seamless hose of fabric of the type specified, a common practice to shape the leg by progressive cylinder which is some A." larger in diameter variation in the loop size, the loop size being than would be employed for making the corredecreased down the leg towards the ankle, or sponding seamless hose of plain fabric. In con- 25 increased upwards from the ankle to the stocksequence, if the stiffening is sufiiciently severe to ing top, according to the direction in which knitreduce the compass of the tube at the ankle to ting proceeds. This effect, which is rendered that which is desirable, there is a radical demore pronounced by the subsequent boarding to parture from the optimum relation at the ankle,

which the stocking is subjected, is usually while on the other hand if the stiffening is less 30 achieved by an axial adjustment of the cylinder severe so as to cause a lesser departure from the in relation to the knitting cams. In this manner optimum relation, the ankle is unduly large or a seamless stocking of plain fabric, which is baggy. Conversely, if the cylinder diameter be acceptable only in the cheaper ranges of the such as to permit of the requisite ankle compass trade, is produced. For cheap goods the aforebeing obtained without too drastic a departure 85 said variation in stitch size is not considered thereat from the optimum relation, the compass unduly deleterious (its disadvantages being ofiat the top of the leg is insufficient, with the result set by the low price) but it is one of the factors that the knee of the stocking is liable to split. I

which inhibit the application of the seamless It will thus be apparent that the manufacture method of manufacture to plain-knit stockings of ladies seamless stockings, of fabric of the that will obtain a good price. type specified, presents peculiar difficulties and In the case of fabric of the type specified, there the advantages of the said type of fabric cannot is a certain optimum relation between the mabe realised to the fullest extent by the seamless chine gauge and the size of the loops and between method of manufacture. the size of the stitch loops and the size of the It is, of Cou 110583018130 maintain the p locking loops, which must be maintained if the mum relationship referred to, and at the same best results as regards elasticity, appearance, and time to produce a full fashioned blank, by knitresistance to laddering are to' be achieved, (the ting the said blank on a straight bar knitting optimum relation, which varies with various facmachine. 'This in turn has its disadvantages,

tors such as the material of the yarn and its however, for in producing fabric of the type speci- 5 q ality, count .and. degree of twist, being such that fied on a straight bar knitting machine, a course while the locking loop is an efiicient lock, yet no of stitch loops is produced by the traverse of the r stress or other condition is thereby set up in the slur-cock and carrier in one direction, and this fabricithat impairs its elasticity or resistance to course of loops is locked by locking loops produced splittingnor is the sheer appearance of the fabric by the reverse traverse of said slur-cock and u carrier. As a consequence the speed of production of full-fashioned stockings when the fabric is of the type specified is substantially slower than that of production of full-fashioned stockings of ordinary plain fabric, with a consequent increase in cost. The present invention overcomes all these disadvantages and difficulties by selecting a circular machine of substantial diameter for the production of the ladder-resistant fabric (or as viewed from an analogous aspect, selecting for the stocking a fabric of the type specified when produced on such a machine), and making the stockings from that fabric by cutting and seaming. By the expression circular machine, is to be understood a machine in which the loops are produced seriatim along the line of the needles, in contradistinction to machines which, like straight bar machines, produce all the loops of a course simultaneously. By the expression substantial diameter is to be understood a diameter which will enable a stocking leg to be produced without stitch variation or without such stitch variation as would be accompanied by a departure from the optimum relation. The diameter must be such as to give the maximum width required (the top of the stocking if the welt is produced on a separate machine or the welt itself if produced on the selected machine) in stitch optimum.

It may here be said that while it is usual to produce ladies seamless hose on a circular knitting I machine of 3 A" to 3 diameter, in the exercise of the present invention it is preferred, if the welt is to be knitted on the same machine as the fabric for the remainder of the leg, to use a machine (say a 5 diameter machine) which produces fabric the circumferential diameter of which is approximately the same as or even greater than the maximum width of the stocking blank produced on a Cottons patent machine. It is in fact fabric by cutting and seaming suffer from the disadvantage that the seam is very bulky and is not very sound.

The invention provides a method of producing a ladder-resistant fashioned stocking which comprises knitting on a circular knitting machine a fabric tube of lock-stitch fabric of the type specified, maintaining the optimum size of stitch and stitch-locking loop with no appreciable variation ioned leg tube.

throughout the knitting process, cutting the tubular fabric and seaming same to produce a fash- Desirably the seaming operation follows the cutting, and therefore the method includes the steps of cutting from the fabric a stocking blank of the requisite shape and then seaming together the edges of the shaped blank to produce the fashioned leg tube. It is within the scope. of the invention to cut the blank in such manner as to include therein all the portions necessary for the leg, foot, toe and heel, but in the preferred construction the blank is so cut as to omit at least a portion of the foot and is transferred to the needles of a footing frame and the foot completed thereon. The fabric which is knitted on to the blank by the use of a footing frame may be either plain fabric or it may be fabric of the type specified. The foot may be of any known or approved type. If an English foot is to be knitted'the blank is so cut as to comprise the leg, foot top or instep and the heel tabs. The inner edges of these heel tabs are run on to the needles of a footing frame and the English foot knitted on in the usual manner. The usual subsequent seaming or linking is thereafter effected.

In an alternative mode of completing an English foot the cut blank terminates short of the toe. A course of loops at the toe end of the blank is run on to the needles of a circular knitting machine and a seamless toe pouch, followed by a foot bottom is knitted on to it by reciprocation. In a further alternative, the heel tabs may be run on and knitting may proceed from the heel towards the toe.

The Einseidel type of stocking may be produced according to this invention. To do so, the blank is cut to include the foot top or instep and the foot bottom (it being understood that the eventual seam extends centrally along the foot bottom). A group of loops at each side ofthe blank is run onto the needles of a heeling machine, either before or after cuts have been made inwards from each edge just below the running-on line, and the heel tabs knitted on.

During the production of the fabric mock-fashioning marks may be produced along suitable parallel, but preferably divergent, lines by tuck stitches or other means, such as loop-transference. Additionally the lines along which the fabric is to be cut to produce the blank may be indicated by tuck stitches or other stitch variation.

If the fabric is tubular it is folded flat prior to cutting, and therefore a guide line may be produced at the back of the tube by tuck stitches or the like, or by omitting a needle, as a guide to assist in the said folding As will readily be appreciated, in the production of the blank, certain portions of the fabric are cut away and are waste. In the production of the fabric on a circular knitting machine it is within the scope of this invention to cause the thread laid at each course to float over the requisite number of needles instead of being knitted thereby to produce this wasteportion. This involves the introduction of successive needles in the waste area into, or the removal of successive needles fr'om, activity as knitting proceeds. In order to minimise the length of each float, at least be retained in the waste area, so that each thread floats over a plurality of chords of the needle circle.

The welt may be of the automatically turned kind (the machine being equipped with mechanism for the production of such a welt) or it may be produced by folding the fabric over and seaming it in position, or it may be run on. The latter method has the advantage that it minimises waste, for a machine of the requisite diameter may be employed for making the welt and a machine of smaller diameter employed for making the fabric from which the blank is cut. Moreover the knitted welt may be formed with a picot edge, a lace pattern and like effects now popular in welts.

The requisite areas of the resultant stocking, such as the welt, heel, foot bottom, and toe pouch, may be spliced or knitted of a stouter thread, and this will be effected either on the circular or independent needle machine or upon the footer, according to the nature and location of said parts,

. one needle, or a plurality of spaced needles, may

as will be understood by one versed in stocking manufacture.

In this manner there is produced a commercially satisfactory fashioned stocking of fabric of the type specified, said stocking being commercially satisfactory in that it is produced at a reasonable price and in that the aforesaid optimum relation is maintained at least throughout the leg or panel with consequent and uniformly good characteristics of elasticity,.reslstance to laddering, and appearance.

For the purpose of more fully describing the nature of this invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates diagrammatically a knitted tube adapted when out and seamed to form a fashioned stocking having an English foot.

Figure 2 shows a shaped blank produced by.

cutting the knitted tube of Figure 1 along the dot and dash line, the cut away part being indicated by the marginal dotted line.

Figure 3 shows the shaped blank seamed to form the fashioned stocking, afoot bottom and ing a stocking having a French foot.

Figures 5A and 5B are complementary figures, each showing a portionof an interior development of the cams in a circular knitting machine for the needles and jacks.

Figure 6 illustrates diagrammatically the picker operation on the needle jacks for progressively narrowing the spliced areas.

. Figure 7 illustrates diagrammatically the pickor operation on the needle jacks for progressively widening the spliced areas. I

Figure 8 illustrates diagrammatically the picker operation on the needle jacks for fashioning, and also for producing mock fashion marks.

Figure 9' illustrates the positions around the machine at which long and short butt needles are located.

Figure 10 is a general view in perspective oi the main part ,of a circular knitting machine suitable for producing a fashioned stocking in accordance with this invention.

Figure 11 is an enlarged view of part of the machine shown in Figure 10.

In the preferred method of producing a shaped blank, the part or parts of the knitted tube to be cut away to waste are composed of float threads. this being readily accomplished by removing to an inoperative position all or the majority of the needles in the waste area. It will be appreciated that the particular method of producing the fashioned blank for the stocking will vary in ac-' cordance with the required shape of blank and with the required shape of the-spliced or relniorced areas.

For example, the production of a stocking having an English foot according to the example shown in Figs. 1 to 3 is effected as follows: Knitting is commenced at the toe end of the instep, the requisite number of needles being first pressed off so as to leave in operation only those needles required to produce the width of the instep or foot. A small parallel portion of fabric a (say approximately one inch) is first knitted of locked fabric without splicing thread. Splicing thread is now introduced to produce the shaped spliced portions b at the toe end of the instep and after the required amount of splicing has been effected the splicing thread is taken out and. knitting proceeded with without said thread to a suitable point at which the heel is to be commenced.

Splicing thread is again introduced to produce the heel portion 0 at each side of the instep d and the spliced areas are progressively widened at '6 and then narrows as at f to the width required for the high splicing, e. g. to a Cuban heel width, and the Cuban heel portions g are then completed. After knitting the required ankle length, fashioning of the fabric is commenced by progressively bringing into operation needles from the idle group, and at the positions 71. and h in the leg fabric where widening is. effected, mock fashioning is simultaneously effected as indicated at i and i When the required length of leg has been knitted, a welt is produced, and 7 if desired a picot edge may be formed at the turn of the welt.

It will be appreciated that, at that part of the needle cylinder where the needles are retained in an idle position, the knitting yarn will be floated, and when the knitting of the tube has been com.- pleted, the waste portion composed of float threads and indicated at is is cut away, as also are the two portions Z below the heel tabs 0 and the initially knitted portion a, the cutting line being indicated by a dot and dash line. The out edges of, the blanks are now seamed up at the back of the leg, and a foot bottom and toe added in the well known manner; it being appreciated that the foot bottom m is connected to the inner edges of the heel tabs 0 as shown in Figure 3.

A fashioned blank for a stocking having a French foot may also be produced from a seamless tube. In the construction shown in Figure 4 the shape of the foot and of the spliced areas therein is such as to provide a spliced foot bottom n and a spliced toe o, and after the blank has been cut from the tube, a short cut is made along a line p at each side at the position of the heel, and the blank is transferred to a running= on bar and thence to a machine which knits on the heel tabs 11.. The inner edges r and s are then united on a linking machine. If desired, however, the knitted tube may be so produced as to provide, when out, a blank including heel tabs but not including the instep and foot bottom (the blank therefore terminatingat the instep line) and the inner edges of the heel tabs and the edge of the blank along the instep line are run onto needles of a footer and the foot top and bottom with toe knitted on.

A method of knitting a shaped or fashioned blank according to this invention on a,circular knitting machine will now be described with reference to Figures 5A to 9 of the accompany- .ing drawings. The needles 5 (one of which is shown at the right hand side of Figure 5B) are each provided with two pivoted latches spaced one below another on the needle shank, said needles functioning to produce locked or tied stitches in a manner described in the aforementioned specification of Patent No. 1,960,161. I

The needles located around approximately 'half of the needle cylinder are provided with long butts, the group of long butt needles being indicated at LBN in Figure 9. In the remaining half or part of the cylinder short butt needles are employed, but these may be arranged in two groups indicated at SBN, divided by a small section devoid of needles, which section coincides with the centre back of the stocking leg. The short butt needles are fashioning needles, and co-operating with same are fashioning jacks; The batch of fashioning needles also includes the needles that are adapted to be operated for mock fashioning. Co-operating with the long butt needles or predetermined thereof are splicing jacks, it being understood that jacks may be omitted from a number of the instep needles which are not required to receive splicing thread, say, for example, when knitting stockings according to Figs. 1 to 3.

To produce lock stitch fabric of the type specified there are provided in the machine, needleoperating cams for making normally knitted stitches and other cams for making stitch locking loops and locking said stitches. The normal cams are shown at 2 and the lock stitch cams at 3, in Figures A and 5B; the feed appertaining to the normal stitch forming thread being indicated at NF and the feed for the stitch looking thread at LF. The splicing thread feed is indicated at SF.

Let it be assumed that a stocking is being.

knitted in accordance with Figures 1 to 3. The needle in Figure 5B is shown in an idle position with its butt at the level of the idle race 4, but when raised to the operative position the needle butts traverse the race 5. When commencing to knit, the short butt needles are pressed oil so as to leave only those needles in operation for producing the required width of foot. For this purpose a radially movable clearing cam 6 is projected into the cam cylinder from an inoperative to an operative position so as to cause all needles to traverse same and clear their loops, the said cam being subsequently withdrawn. After passing over the clearing cam 6 the needles are lowered by cam 1 to the normal height, and then the short butt needles pass a half-thickness main clearing cam 8 without being raised thereby and are carried down to the idle position by the down cam 9, which is moved radially from an inoperative to an operative position for this purpose. The long butt needles, however, ride up over the main clearing cam 8, and therefore miss the down cam 9. and are maintained in operation; said needles traversing the normal stitch cams 2 and the lock-stitch cams 3 to produced locked fabric.

' Knitting on the long butt needles is proceeded with until the required portion a of fabric is produced, after which the splicing thread feed SF is brought in and the toe splicing portions b are produced.

All of the needles to be operated for receiving splicing thread have located thereunder splicing jacks I I, amuiormally said needles are raised to the height shown in broken lines for receiving a splicing thread at the feed SF by causing the butts 12 on the splicing jacks to ride up and over a cam l3. In order however, to produce the gradually reduced splicing areas I) (Figs. 1 and 2) the jacks ll appertaining to two spaced groups of splicing jacks indicated at SJ in Figs. 6 and 7 are picked down one by one from the innermost Jacks of said groups so that the number of needles operating to receive the splicing thread is gradually and progressively reduced. For the sake .of clearness only the widened portions Ila, llb

of the jacks II are shown in the groups of jacks SJ. This is accomplished by providing a pair of picker blocks l4 and Ida, the block l4 being carried by a ring I5 encircling the machine cylinder and capable of being rotated thereon while the block Ma is carried by a second ring l6 similarly mounted below the first named ring IS, the two rings, l5, it, normally tending to rotate in opposite directions under the influence oi springs l1 so that the normal tendency is for the two picker blocks I4, a to be moved apart. These picker blocks carry pivotally mounted picker eles ments 3 and l8a of the customary type adapted to be pivotally displaced upwardly and downwardly by the vertical sliding movement of plungers I 9 and l9a within the blocks. When the jacks appertaining to the splicing needles are to be progressively lowered, a picker. cam 20, carried by a stationary part of the machine is moved inwards to a position to engage the plungers l9, I9a as the needle cylinder rotates. When the plunger l9 appertaining to one picker block rides up the picker cam 20 the picker I8 is pivotally displaced downwards and co-acts with the innermost jack ll of one group of splicing jacks to lower same a short distance to the position indicated at the right hand side of Fig. 6. This brings the butt l2 on said lowered jack to a position where same co-acts with and traverses down beneath an inclined cam 2| and in so doing the lowered jack is brought to the position indicated at 0 thereby bringing the part of the jack of reduced width located between the widened portions Ila, Ilb opposite to a fixed wedge shaped projection 22 on the picker block and allows the ring IS with picker to be moved round the cylinder to the extent of one needle jack and places the picker in position for operating upon the next adjacent jack at the next subsequent rotation of'the cylinder. Similarly, as the cylinder rotates the plunger |9a appertaining to the next picker block Ma also co-acts with the projected picker cam 20 and the inner most jack of the second group of splicing jacks is lowered so as to ride down thecam 2| in the manner above described. This enables the fixed projection 22a on the picker block- I 4a to move to the extent of one needle into engagement with the next subsequent jack under the influence of the spring I! operating on the ring iii. In this manner it will be appreciated that the jacks are individually lowered one by one from the inner set of the two groups of splicing jacks, and the needles are thereby progressively operated upon to miss the splicing thread feeder. The picking down of the splicing jacks is continued until the by virtue of providing fixed jacks or elements indicated at 23 which are adapted to co-act with abutment members 24 on the picker blocks.

When it is desired progressively to pick up the splicing jacks for gradually widening the splicing areas, say for example as at e in Figs. 1 and 2, the two picker rings I 5, [B are gradually moved step by step in an opposite direction to that previously described against the influence of the springs l1 and the pickers I8, I 8a are pivotally operated to raise the jacks one by one from the upper set of each group of jacks SJ. The method of accomplishing this is illustrated in Fig. 7. An inclined cam 26. This raises the jack to a sufficient height to cause the needle eo-operating therewith to ride up over the aforesaid cam l3 and receive splicing thread. When the jack has been so raised the lowermost widened portion lib thereof is pushed up on to the inclined face of the fixed projection 22 of the picker block I4 thereby moving the ring l5 and picker block to the extent of one needle 'against the influence of the spring l1. Similarly, as the cylinder rotates the outermost jack of the other group of splicing jacks is raised and engages the inclined projection 22a to move the ring 16 and picker block Mo to the extent of one needle. By this means, as each outermost jack of the two groups of jacks is raised the pickers l8 and lBa are brought step by step into position for raising thenext adjacent jack and consequently the number of needles raised to the position for receiving splicing thread is progressively increased. The gradual narrowing of the splicing areas as at J is of course accomplished in a manner similar to that described with reference to the splicing areas 11. When the full extent of splicing is completed, all of the splicing jacks are lowered to the inoperative position, i. e. to a position wherein same do not operate on the needles to raise them to a position for taking splicing thread.

As aforesaid the fashioning is produced on the short butt needles and as will be understood from the stocking blanks shown in Figs. 2 and 4 said fashioning is produced by widening. This, of course, requires that the number of needles in operation be progressively increased and the section of the needle cylinder over which the yarn is floated correspondingly decreased. In other words, the gap between the two groups of operative short butt needles .is gradually reduced. Fig. 8 illustrates a method of accomplishing this. Associated with the needles to be used for fash ioning, i. e. the short butt needles, are jacks 21 which are advantageously divided in their length into two parts bearing one upon another. These jacks 21 have widened portions 21a and 21b between which is a narrow portion 210 and adapted to operate on the said narrow portions 210 are pickers 28, 28a pivotally mountedin picker blocks 29, 29a carried respectively by rings 30, 3|, which latter encircle the needle cylinder and tend to rotate thereon under the influence of springs 32. The pickers 28, 28a are pivotally displaced bytl'fe ggdagla movement in the picker blocks of plungers When fashioning is to be produced a picker cam 34 is moved radially inwards so as to coact with the upper ends of the said axially displaceable plungers 33, 33a and by so doing pivotally displace the pickers and effect a short upward movement of the jacks 21. This movement is illustrated at the right hand side of Fig. 8, and the movement imparted to the outermost jack is sufficient to bring a butt 35 on the jack to a height sufficient to cause same to engage with and ride up a cam 36. The upward movement imparted to the jack by the cam 36 displaces the widened portion ,Z'Iaof the jack to a position above a fixed projection or abutment 31 on the picker block, and by so doing the spring 32 pulls the ring 30 with picker block and pickers round to the extent of one needle, that is to say,

to a position at which during the next revolution of the machine the next adjacent jack is raised. It is to be understood that when the cam 34 cooperates with the plunger 33a and the second picker block 29a a similar operation takes place to wheel.

raise a jack and with same a needle to a knitting position.

At intervals during the fashioning or widening of the fabric mock fashion marks indicated at i in Figs. 1 and 2 are also produced, and this is accomplished by picking down the jacks appertaining to selected of the short butt needles. The mock fashion stitches are of course produced along a line parallel with and suitably spaced from the marginal line of the fashioned fabric, consequently the jacks to be picked down must be spaced to the extent of a suitable number of jacks from those that are picked up for fashioning. Pickers for'the mock fashioning are shown at 33 and 380. said pickers being carried by the blocks 29, 29a associated with the movable rings 30, 3| and being pivotally displaced by the axial movement of plungers 39, 39a (Fig. 8). When a. mock fashion stitch is to be produced a cam 40 is projected inwardly from an inoperative to an operative position, and upwardly displaces the plunger This in turn lowers the picker 38 and presses down a selected jack; the two positions of the picker and jack before and after lowering being shown in Fig. 5. The lowering of the selected jack 21 causes a butt 4| thereon to engage the inclined under face of a lowering cam 13, and as the needles for mock fashioning are short butt needles same have passed the half thickness main clearing cam 8 without being raised to clear, and will therefore pass on to receive stitch thread at the feed 2 without clearing. 1

During the production of. the welt it may be desired to produce at the position where the well; is turned over a picot edge. For this purpose the needle jacks are provided with additional butts 42 adapted to be engaged by a small down cam l0 which is adapted to be moved in from an inoperative to an operative position for this purpose. When the jack butts 42 engage this cam ill the jacks are lowered and the needles are carried down to miss the yarn feeds for a predetermined number of courses. The picot edge butts 42 are provided on selected jacks only, say for example, on one of every four jacks.

In Figs. 10 and 11 are shown the main parts of a circular knitting machine suitable for the production of a fashioned stocking as before described. The machine may operate to knit by circular motion throughout.

The main drive shaft 43 with belt pulleys 44, carries a gear 45 meshing with another and larger gear 46 on a second shaft 41. On this shaft 41 is a bevelled gear 48 (Fig. 11) meshing with another bevelled gear 49 to drive the needle cylinder in the customary manner. t

I At suitable positions'around the machine are radially displaceable picker operating cams. Two of these cams are shown at 20 and 34 in Fig. 10, same being slidably carried in fixed blocks'or brackets and being adapted for movement inwards against spring resistance by imparting pivotal'motion to arms 50 co-acting with depending pins 5| and operated at predetermined times from a peg wheel or .drum 52 through the medium of a crank 53 engaging the periphery of said This peg wheel or drum 52 isracked round by a pawl and ratchet device. In the arrangement illustrated a ratchet wheel 54 fixed to rotate with the peg wheel is engaged by a pivoted pawl 55 (Fig. 11) carried at one end of a centrally pivoted lever 56, the other endof. said lever carrying a truck .51 normally co-acting with a cam 58 rotating with the needle cylinder. Conring 14 over which the chain passes.

sequently at each revolution of the cylinder the peg wheel is racked.

Rotatably mounted at one side of the lower part of the machine is a drum 59 having pegs or upstanding bits located at predetermined positions on its circumferential face. One of the functions of this drum is to effect selective movement into and out of operation of the several thread feeders while another of its functions is to blufi (render inoperative) the racking mechanism for the aforesaid peg wheel 52 appertaining to the picker cams. This drum 59 is intermittently rotated by a pivoted clawker arm 68 co-acting with a toothed ring or disc 6| on the drum, the clawker being mounted on a short spindle 62 which is itself carried at the upper end of an arm a pivoted finger 61 carried by a cross spindle 68 and having a nose portion bearing on the face of the drum. On this cross spindle 68 is also mounted a bell crank lever 69, one arm of which bears on the drum 59 while the other arm has pivotally connected thereto one end of a rod 10, the other end being turned up or otherwise provided to engage a finger portion H on the aforesaid pawl-carrying lever 56. The arrangement is such that when the arm 69 engages upstanding bits or the like on the drum 59, a pullis exerted on the pawl-carrying lever 56 to prevent same from being operated by the cam 58, and thereby stopping the racking of the peg wheel 52.

At the end of. the drum 59 is a travelling chain 12 which is advantageously racked or traversed by a pivoted clawker 13 co-acting with a toothed This chain 12 has for one of its functions to throw in to and out of operation the racking mechanism for the drum 59, i. e. for bluffing said racking mechanism as and when desired. One method of accomplishing this is by suitably disposed upstanding bits 15 on said chain with which bits a nose portion at the end of a centrally pivoted arm 16 co-acts. The opposite end of this arm 16 is linked by a link member 11 to a crank arm 18 provided on a sleeve 19 rotatably encircling a cross shaft 66. This sleeve 19 also has fixed thereto a bell crank member 89 the upper arm 8| of. which has a bevelled end 82 located beneath the gear engaging portion of the clawker arm 60 which functions to rack the drum. When the pivoted arm 16 co-acts with the upstanding bits on the chain 12, the sleeve 19 is partially rotated and in so doing the bevelled end 82 of the blufiing arm 8| lifts the clawker arm 60 out of engagement with the gear 6| and stops the racking of the drum 59. The chain 12 may also function to operate additional means for bluifing the before described pawl and ratchet device which imparts a rotary movement to the peg wheel or the like associated with thepicker cams. To this end suitably spaced upstanding bits 83 on the chain co-operate at the required time with a nose 84 on an arm 85 carried by a sleeve 86 rotatably mounted on the aforesaid spindle 68 which sleeve 86 also carries the aforesaid bell crank 69 one arm of which bears on the drum 59. Consequently when the nose 84 co-acts with an upstanding bit 83 the bell crank 69 is partially rotated on the spindle 68 and the pawl and ratchet device for operating the peg wheel 52 is bluifed in the manner before described.

A stocking in accordance with this invention may be produced on a circular machine which includes reciprocating mechanism. In such case portions of the stocking foot such for example as heel and toe pockets may be knitted by reciprocation. 1 I

It is an advantage of a stocking produced from fabric of the type specified, and in the manner hereinbefore set forth, that the seam at the back of the leg is secure and is not unduly bulky. This is because with this type of fabric the cut edges are not so. prone to run, and the seam pull out, as with plain fabric, therefore in the stocking according to this invention the stitches of the seam may penetrate the fabric very close to the cut edges. Additionally, by virtue of the aforesaid optimum relation being maintained throughout the leg or panel, it will be appreciated that no difliculty is experienced in introducing splicing or reinforcing threads at any position.

I claim:

1. The production of a ladder-resistant fashioned stocking (i. e. a stocking that is shaped by varying the number of wales down'the leg) which consists in knitting on a circular knitting machine a fabric tube comprising lock-stitch fabric of the type specified, maintaining the optimum size of stitch and stitch-locking loop with no appreciable variation throughout the knitting process and cutting and seaming the tubular fabric to produce a fashioned leg tube.

2. The production of a ladder-resistant fashioned stocking (i. e. a stocking that is shaped by varying the number of wales down the leg) which consists in knitting by circular motion on a cir-' cular knitting machine a tube composed wholly or in the main of fabric of the type specified, maintaining the optimum size of stitch and stitch-locking loop with no appreciable variaton throughout the knitting process, cutting from said tube a stocking blank of the requisite shape and subsequently seaming together the cut edges of said blank to produce a fashioned leg tube.

3. The production of a ladder-resistant fashioned stocking according to claim 1 wherein a 7 ioned stocking according to claim 1 wherein the complete foot with the possible exception of the heel is knitted as an integral part of the fabric prior to cutting and seaming.

5. The production of a ladder-resistant fashioned stocking according to claim 1 wherein a shaped blank produced by cutting the knitted tube of lock-stitch fabric has a foot portion knitted thereon by transferring said blank to a separate machine.

6. The production of a ladder-resistant fashioned stocking according to claim 1 wherein a shaped blank produced by cutting the knitted tube embodies a portion of the foot and the remainder of the foot is added by transferring said blank to a separate machine or frame.

7. The production of a ladder-resistant fashioned stocking according to claim 1 wherein a shaped blank produced by cutting the knitted tube comprises the stocking leg or panel, foot top ioned stocking according to claim 1 wherein a shaped blank produced by cutting the knitted tube comprises the stocking leg or panel, foot top or instep, foot sole and'toe, the heel tabs being subsequently knitted on to said blank.

9. A method of production according to claim 2, wherein during the knitting process clearly defined lines are produced in the tubular fabric, along which lines the said fabric is cut to provide a shaped blank and seamed to provide a fashioned leg tube with or without a foot or portion thereof.

10. A method of production according to claim 2 wherein during the knitting process a shaped area of lock-stitch fabric is produced with an intervening area composed wholly or in the main of float threads, and the latter area cut away to form a shaped blank which is seamed up at its out edges to form a fashioned leg tube with or without a foot or portion thereof.

11. A method of production according to claim .2 wherein during the knitting process a shaped area of the lock-stitch fabric is produced, ad-

ditional thread is introduced into said fabric at intervals to produce spliced or reinforced portions, said area of lock-stitch fabric is cut out from the knitted tube in the form of a 'shaped blank and said blank is seamed up to provide a fashioned leg tube with or without a foot or portion thereof.

12. A circular knitting machine adapted for the production of a stocking having a fashioned leg composed of lock-stitch fabric of the type specified, said machine embodying needles, means for feeding stitch-forming thread to said needles,

means for feeding stitch-locking thread to the needles, cams operating the needles to produce normal stitches, cams operating the needles to produce'locked stitches, and means functioning at predetermined times gradually or progressively to vary the number of needles operated to produce stitches so as gradually to vary the number of stitches produced per revolution and form a shaped area of'lock-stitch fabric which can be cut from th knitted tube to provide a shaped blank adapted when seamed up to form a fashioned stocking or stocking leg.

13. A circular knitting machine adapted for the production of a stocking having a fashioned of stitches produced perrevolution and form a shaped area of lock-stitch fabric, a splicing thread feeder, and means for operating a predetermined and variable number of needles to receive splicing thread from said feeder so as to produce shaped areas of fabric embodying said splicing thread.

14. A circular knitting machine'according to claim 13 and including picker mechanism functioning at predetermined times to operate on jacks associated with selected needles so as to vary from course to course the number of needles rendered operative for stitch production and also other picker mechanism functioning at predetermined times to operate on jacks associated with other selected needles and cause said needles to receive splicing vor re-inforcing thread.

15. A machine according to claim 13 and imcluding. means functioning at predetermined times to produce tuck stitches on selected needles so as to form mock-fashioning marks in the knitted fabric.

ROBERT KIR 

